Twisted Reality
by Firestorm
Summary: Cye had always thought his father was dead. But during his birthday he finds out the truth, much to his horror. Please R&R. Thanks.
1. Default Chapter

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Disclaimer: *sniffles* Why can't I own the Ronins?! You know, sometimes I think the creators of the Rws should hold a contest to the public and let them write stories for more and new episodes of the RWS. Oh well. I can dream.

Twisted Reality

Chapt. 1.

Lately things had been pretty quiet in Toyama. There had been no attacks, not threats, and life seemed normal for everyone. Especially for Ryo Sanada, Rowen Hashiba, Sage Date, Cye Mouri, and Kento Rei Faun. The five boys have done their share of fighting. No, not against each other, nor from other boys. These five had fought valiantly to save the world from an evil being known as Talpa. They wore mystical armor that actually came from the tyrant, and there were four more who bear armor as well. The battles and wars had been tough, and the five of them had nearly died, but they had made it through, and were now enjoying the relaxing afternoon.

Cye stood in his bedroom, staring at himself in the mirror. A smile came to his face. He would be sixteen tomorrow. What surprises awaited him, he did not know. But if he knew the guys, it would be big. Already Ryo was nineteen, Sage eighteen, and Kento and Rowen were seventeen. The five of them matured greatly during the past few years. Ryo's temper had cooled down a bit, and he was more playful and enjoying life. Sage was still a flirt, but at least his dating habits with one girl were starting to last longer than a week. Rowen was well, Rowen. There was no change to him. And Kento, although he did cut down on his eating some, he was still the fighting-loving Ronin he always was. 

"Hey, Cye."

Cye looked out his doorway toward the voice and smiled. "Hi, Mia. What's up?"

"Just about to run down to the store to get a few things. I should be back soon."

Cye nodded, and followed after her as she walked down the hall toward the stairs. "So where is everyone?" he asked.

"Well, Sage took that Mariah girl out to a movie, Kento went to play football with Yulie. Rowen is at the University, as usual, and Ryo is downstairs somewhere."

Cye nodded as he followed her down the stairs. "Well, see you when you get back, Mia," he told her as she smiled at him once and more and left. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a can of soda, Pepsi, and popped the can open. He watched through the window as her jeep started, then drove off down the road as he took a drink.

Ryo was in the living room, lying flat on his stomach on the floor, looking through a game magazine and playing a game on Playstation 2. Every few minutes or so Ryo would look from the magazine to the screen as he played.

"Hi, Ryo," Cye said as he made himself comfortable on the couch.

"Hello," Ryo said as he kept on playing. "Don't mind me, just trying to get some tips for this game."

"What is it?" Cye asked curiously as he took another drink of his soda.

"Final Fantasy X. I've never played it before, and to tell you the truth, this whole game confuses me."

Cye let a smile come to his lips. "I'm sure you can handle one game, Ryo."

"Yeah," Ryo answered as he moved his character, Kimahri Ronso, around on the screen. So far there was little action and his health and energy stats were still pretty high, which was good for now. He kept his eyes on the game, but his mind was elsewhere. It was on tomorrow, and the big event. 

Cye continued to watch Ryo play, sitting there quietly and sipping his drink. Ryo finally gave him a look out of the corner of his eyes as he grinned. "Hey, thanks for getting me some!" 

Cye grinned back. "You're welcome!" But he stood up. "I'll be back. Pepsi or Mountain Dew?"

"Pepsi," Ryo answered as he continued to play. Cye nodded and headed for the kitchen.

Talpa was grinning, extreme pleasure ran through his veins and blood as his eyes continued to flash red. He was extremely thrilled about something, and his Warlords could only wonder why. Finally Dais dared to ask. "Master, forgive us, but you seem to be in a good mood. Are you feeling ill?"

Both Cale and Sekhmet awaited for Talpa's mood to change and for Dais to be shocked into oblivion. But no, surprisingly, Talpa continued to grin happily. Was he losing his touch?

"No, I am not ill," Talpa replied as his eyes flashed red again. "Soon very soon my child shall be revealed, and then when I claim the child, I will turn him or her to this side, and the Ronin Warriors will be stunned beyond belief."

The Warlords were shocked. Talpa had a child? How was that possible? And if so where was the child? And more specifically was it a boy or a girl?

"Master, why did you not tell us this before?" Cale asked.

"Because I was too busy trying to take over the mortal world, and trying to destroy the Ronin Warriors," Talpa answered calmly. "Now listen up. I want you to go out into the mortal world, and look for a sixteen year old with this birthmark directly above their left eyebrow." He lowered his helmet slightly showing them a close look at birthmark that was shaped like X. 

Cale, Sekhmet, and Dais studied the birthmark carefully before they bowed and vanished to look for the one who would bear the same birthmark as their master did. 

Talpa sat back against his throne, his helmet now fully upon his head once more, the birthmark above his left eyebrow completely hidden once again. A smile came to him. He could hardly wait to see his child.

Sage glanced at the clock on the wall in the hallway of the large theatre he was in. People swarmed right by him as he waited near the ladies restroom for Mariah to come out. The movie had ended at least fifteen minutes ago, and he was hoping to stop at one last place after he dropped her off at home. He knew Cye's birthday was tomorrow, and already he knew what he planned to get him. Now if only Mariah would… 

The door opened and Mariah, a pretty but petite girl stepped out. She smiled at him a bit nervously. "Um, sorry, I took so long. I had to wait."

Sage smiled back causing her to relax. "It's quite all right. But we better get going now. I promised your parents I'd have you home before eleven."

Mariah nodded and followed along side him. In her mind she wondered why Sage would ask her out. She wasn't really pretty. Her hair was thin and practically lifeless. She wore contacts since she couldn't stand wearing her glasses. And she was short! Sage had to have stood at 5'9 which was at least six inches taller than her 5.3 height. She gazed up at him for a brief moment as she followed him down the hall, toward the exit doors. He seemed so caring and so sweet, not at all like the Sage Date she had first met when the high school year had first started. During her ninth grade period, she had seen him surrounded by girls, mostly cheerleaders and preps whom he had flirted with shamelessly, never once looking her way. Back then she had been called a nerd. And now in eleventh grade she still was a nerd. She remembered how she had stumbled through the halls, trying to get to her class on time when she had turned the corner and walked right into someone. It was the Flirt King himself. At first she had backed away, fearing he would snarl at her and call her cruel names for bumping into him. Instead she heard him apologizing and had looked up to see his concerned face. Definitely not the Sage Date she had been told about. After a brief talk and exchanged apologies it wasn't long before Sage would pass her by in the halls, and say hi to her. It was unbelievable actually, and now here she was, a week later, after having bumped into Sage, leaving the Mauzi Theatre. This had to be a dream.

Sage held open the door and let her pass through, then followed her out as he withdrew his car keys. His eyes focused on the white Porsche sitting in the third parking lot in Section E on the left side. He undid the alarm with just a push of a button, and led Mariah to the car. Like a gentleman, which totally surprised her, he opened her door for her, and allowed her in as he carefully shut the door, and got in the driver's side. The car was started up, the seatbelts came over them, the mirrors and parking lot were checked, and Sage drove off. 

After dropping Mariah off at home, Sage quickly headed for the nearest exit of the highway and got on the freeway. He was hoping the place wasn't closed. This was going to be a big surprise for Cye if he could get it, and he was hoping beyond hope that nothing would ruin it.


	2. Chapt. 2

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Twisted Reality

Chapt. 2. 

Rowen let out a yawn as he approached the manor, his backpack slung over one shoulder, and armful of books underneath one arm. It was near midnight now, and the manor seemed fairly quiet except for the sounds from the television. Rowen could see the TV flashing repeatedly and could only wonder what was on as he opened the door and stepped in. 

Kento sat crossed leg on the floor, rapidly moving a PS2 controller around as he engaged in fierce battle on the screen. On one couch Ryo laid sprawled reading some type of game magazine, and Cye was on the other couch watching Kento play. He did not see Sage, or Mia, and he guessed that Yulie was in bed for the night. He closed the door with a soft click.

"Hey, Ro," Ryo said without looking up. 

"Hi," Rowen replied as he set his books on the coffee table. Instantly the area between his arm and side felt better, and not all numbed like it had been. He set his backpack on the floor, then cracked his neck, relieved as the tight tension went away. "Hey where's Sage and Mia?" he asked as he moved around and sat on the couch next to Ryo.

Ryo turned a page in his magazine never once looking up as he answered. "Sage is still out with that girl, who knows when he'll be back? And Mia is in the computer room as usual."

Rowen was not the least bit surprised. Mia was known to work day and night at the computer constantly, and sometimes she would not even leave her computer until around four or six in the morning. That worried the Ronins as they knew good sleeping habits were needed in order to have a healthy body and a willing mind to continue on.

"Come on! Come on!" Kento said furiously as he moved his character in a frenzy to beat the dark character on the game he was playing.

Rowen raised his eyebrows at Kento. He would never understand Kento and video games. Then again Kento would never understand Rowen and books. Speaking of books, Rowen wanted to get more studying done, so he bid the others good night, grabbed his books and headed upstairs to his and Sage's room.

Cye continued to watch Kento play as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He was getting really tired and knew he should get himself to bed before he fell asleep on the couch. He tried to stay awake, but it was no use. He was just too exhausted. Finally he slipped off the couch. "I'm going to bed, guys."

"Ok," Kento said as he kept on playing, his eyes glued to the screen. Nothing would be pulling him away from this game, not until he beat it.

"Good night, Cye," Ryo said, turning another page in his magazine.

"Good night," Cye replied as he headed up the stairs and to his and Kento's room for the night.

The house became silent once more except for the sounds of the TV and Kento's antics as he continued to play. Ryo continued to look on through his magazine. He knew he should be heading up to bed soon, but he was really into this thing. Not to mention he was still wondering what to get Cye tomorrow for his birthday. Last year he had got him gold fish and now those fish were in the pond out in the back yard because they had grown so huge. Cye was proud of them, and he had been thanking Ryo a month straight for them. Now Ryo wanted to get him something different, but what?

Ryo closed his magazine with a sigh, knowing he should go to bed now, otherwise he would be quite cranky when he woke up. He looked toward Kento. "Kento, you going to bed soon?"

"Yep, as soon as I'm done with this." 

Ryo shook his head at his friend, and was prepared to go upstairs when the front door opened. He turned and watched as Sage quietly shut and locked the door. "Hey, Sage, how'd your date go with that…"

"Mariah," Sage said calmly as he took off his jacket and hung it up. "It went well. She's a nice girl, just a little shy and scared of herself."

"So what took you so long, Casanova?" Kento asked as he kept on playing. "I know that movie couldn't have lasted that long!"

Sage was taking off his shoes now, relieved as the tight pressure of having them on all day left his feet. "You're right, Kento, it didn't. After I dropped her off at home, I headed to Aqua World." He reached into his shirt pocket and brought out seven tickets with a smile. "I was able to get them for a cheap price, and we get a special room just to celebrate Cye's birthday."

Ryo grinned. "Cye will love that one!"

"So when are we going? And more importantly, will there be food there?" Kento asked.

"We're going tomorrow after 12 noon, and yes Kento, there will be food there." Sage shook his head as if thinking how could Kento not think there would be food there.

Ryo yawned. "Well, I'm going to bed. Tomorrow's going to be a big day." He headed up the stairs.

Sage picked up his shoes and followed after Ryo, preparing to take a shower before he went to bed himself, while Kento continued to play that game.

Cale let out a bored sigh as he left the girl's bedroom. He looked over at his fellow Warlords and shook his head. "No. She's not the one either."

"Neither was the boy across the street," Sekhmet said with a grunt as he crossed his arms.

"We've checked almost every sixteen year old in this town, and none of them carry Master Talpa's birthmark," Dais said. 

"Should we try another town then?" Cale asked.

Dais shrugged. "Might as well."

The three of them headed off to continue their search, each one wondering who the child could possibly be, and each one wondering just how they were going to get the child back to Talpa. The search continued on and on, with each sixteen year old checked in the city of Saendie. So far there had been no luck for them, and each of them were getting quite cranky and frustrated with this. But they continued to search, wanting to find the child as soon as possible, to please their Master with their efforts. They had no plans to return to him without the child, not unless he called them back. Little did they know as they searched, somewhere on the east side of Japan, a strange looking birthmark had suddenly appeared above the left eyebrow of a young boy as he slept.


	3. Chapt. 3

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Twisted Reality

Chapt. 3

Cye had awoken bright and early the moment the sun had shined in through his window. He yawned and stretched and sat up. One look at the clock on his bed stand told him it was 9:00 a.m. He got out of bed and decided a shower would be nice before he got downstairs to cook breakfast for everyone. 

Downstairs Ryo sat on his knees at the coffee table counting out his money carefully. He had been thinking all night long of what to get Cye and had finally decided on it. He could only hope Cye would like it. He finished counting. Forty-five dollars altogether. He hoped it was enough to get what he wanted for Cye, and was praying it would be as he folded the bills back into his wallet and put it carefully in his back pocket. He stood up as the door opened and Mia and Yulie walked in. "Hi," he greeted.

"Ryo!" Yulie cried happily. "Look what I got for Cye!" He eagerly opened up his present, showing it to be a seashell necklace.

Ryo studied it. "Wow, Yulie. Cye will be happy with this."

Yulie grinned eagerly. "You think so? I bought it with the money I saved up from my allowance."

Ryo smiled and nodded, handing the necklace back to him. "I know he will." 

Mia smiled and carried a cake box into the kitchen, planning to hide it away until later tonight when all of Cye's family and other friends would come over. She already knew of the trip they would be taking to Aqua World in just a few short hours and she still needed to call Yulie's parents as Yulie had a ticket to go. The little boy had been excited and had talked about it ever since he had learned of it.

Ryo followed Mia into the kitchen curious on what the cake looked like. He got a quick peek at it as Mia searched for a place to hide it. The cake was white, laced with white and blue frosting, in the shape of an orca with fish carefully decorated in icing on it. Written neatly and carefully with light blue icing in the middle was Happy 16th Birthday, Cye. Ryo had to smile. 

"Ryo, why don't you try to keep Cye out of here, while I find a place for this?" Mia suggested as she continued to look for a good hiding place. 

Ryo nodded and headed out of the kitchen as Yulie tried to help Mia.

Talpa tapped his armored fingers against the arm of his throne. He was growing very impatient as the Warlords had not been able to find his child. Sixteen years he had waited for this, for the birthmark to appear above the left eyebrow of the one with his blood. He had waited, planned, dreamed, and hoped as he knew his child would grow in power, with the power to destroy or bend the universe to its knees at will. And Talpa longed for that power. Once he gained the child's favor and trust, he would teach him or her to use that power. And if he or she refused, he would force them to. 

Kento stared around the small knick knack store as Sage was off to the left busy staring at some crystalline dolphins on a shelf. They had come here about five minutes ago to help Kento search something for Cye's birthday. And Kento knew he had to pick soon. They had only less than three hours to get ready to take Cye to Aqua World. And hopefully Rowen would be awake by the time they got back.

Kento let out a sigh as he searched more. There were crystalline figurines and small statues and paintings for sell. There was even a rocking chair that was marked half off in one corner of the little shop. With a reluctant sigh Kento made his way back to Sage.

"Fine anything?" the blond asked. 

Kento shook his head. "No.. I don't see anything here. I mean he's my best friend, and I can't figure out what to get him." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Can I be of assistance?"

They turned to see a young woman there. She was dressed in a loose fitting white outfit with a wide gold belt snapped together tightly around her waist. Sage wondered how on earth she could even breath as tight as it looked on her.

"Yeah," Kento said quickly. "You see it's our friend's birthday and we're looking for something. But we can't find anything he might like or already has."

"I see," the woman said calmly. "What does your friend like?"

"Oh, lots of things," Kento said. "Sea life, basketball, painting, cooking. He likes certain music and classical music."

The woman stood there quietly for a moment reflecting on the list he had given her. Sage continued to glance around the small shop. Few customers were in the shop, including one little girl with her father. The little girl was talking excitedly as she pointed to a painting of a prancing unicorn. Finally he heard the woman speak and regarded his attention back to her.

"I think I know what your friend might be interested in. Come with me."

The two followed her through the shop and toward a back room hidden by a thick velvet curtain which she pushed aside and went through, holding it back to allow them entrance. The two quickly followed and were immediately aware on the many shelves filled with many valuable items. This was a treasure collector's dream they reflected. Beautiful statues of animals, mystical creatures, life like people, glass figurines, bells, wind chimes, cuckoo clocks, watches, jewelry, shelves, antique ware, and many more items filled the room up. 

The woman went to the back of the room toward a shelf that held statues of bears, leopards, tigers, and lions, and reached down underneath it, bringing out a small box. Carefully she lifted it and returned to them, setting it down at the only counter there was. Both boys peered curiously at it, wondering just what could be inside it. The woman carefully opened the box and brought out the contents and carefully set it down before them. 

Kento's eyes lit up and Sage's eyes widened a little. The content was a porcelain dolphin, beautifully hand crafted and painted. But it wasn't about the dolphin itself. On one side of the dolphin there was a small recipe for baked cinnamon apple fudge. On the other side of it was a small light that would come on when it was lightly touched, and shut off with another touch. On the head of the dolphin was a small button. When pressed the work of Mozart filled the room. 

"Wow… Cye.. He's going to love this.." Kento said in awe.

Sage nodded in agreement. He was in awe himself having never seen anything like that before. 

"So you'll take it?" the woman asked. Sage held his breath for a moment as his eyes spotted something, as Kento asked,

"How much?"

"Well, it just came today, and it's the first of it's kind, but for you, I'll give a big discount. $30.00."

Kento nodded in agreement and Sage let out small sigh of relief. Kento had been lucky. On the side of the dolphin near the end of the base was the actual price. $130.00. 

Sekhmet yawned tiredly as he trudged down the street. He, Cale, and Dais had been up all night searching for Talpa's child, and they hadn't found him or her. If only they had a bit more to go on, Sekhmet thought. They did not know whether it was a boy or a girl, what the child looked like or anything like that. All they knew the child had a birthmark like Talpa's and they would have to find it.

They came to a familiar area suddenly. Dais grinned as Cale looked around, and Sekhmet leaned against a tree, stifling another yawn.

"Do you know where we are?" Dais asked with a grin.

"In a small park?" Sekhmet asked tiredly as he yawned again.

"We're near that girl's place. The one the Ronins always protect," Dais said with a grin.

Instantly Sekhmet was more wide awake. A grin was forming on all three of their faces as their mission given to them by Talpa was put aside for the time being.

"Let's go visit them," Cale said a nasty smirk. 

Cye came downstairs, completely showered and dressed in blue jeans and a light blue t-shirt. He saw Ryo sitting on the couch watching a movie, but he would have to ask what it was later. He had breakfast to cook. He got down to the last step and was preparing to head into the kitchen, when Ryo said, "Mia gave me strict orders not to let you in the kitchen right now."

Cye was a bit surprised as he stared back at his leader. "But why?"

Ryo shrugged and started flipping the channels to the television. Cye watched him for a moment wondering why he wasn't allowed in the kitchen where he had cooked so many times before. Including on his birthdays. How could this birthday be any different?

Ryo finally put the remote down and looked up at Cye who stood there in dismay and yet in curiosity. "Hey, that's right," the bearer of Wildfire drawled as if he finally remembered something. Cye gave him a strange look as he continued. "It's your birthday. You know what this means!" 

Before Cye could react Ryo had pounced on him a cat, knocking him to the floor. It was not uncommon for the Ronins to engage in what was called the Birthday Wrestle. 

The two wrestled around, each one trying to outdo the other as they laughed and rolled around. Ryo was stronger than Cye, but Ryo had also noticed that Cye must have been working out. He could feel Cye's strength nearly pushing him away as he horsed around with his young friend. Just for effort he held Cye in a choke hold as Cye struggled to get free. His hair whipped around and his face turned red with laughter as he fought to get free, begging Ryo to let him go.

But Ryo hadn't heard him. He was too busy staring in shock at the birthmark that had somehow mysteriously appeared above Cye's left eyebrow. And it looked exactly like Talpa's.


	4. Chapt. 4

**Twisted Reality**

Chapter 4.

Cye could feel Ryo's grip tight against him and was almost panicking. Why wasn't Ryo letting go of him? What had happened? He tried again and again to get his fiery leader to release him, but Ryo wouldn't. This was too much. Was Ryo trying to kill him? Had he become possessed? What was going on here? Cye couldn't stand it anymore. 

"RYO, LET GO!!!"

Ryo jumped, finally coming out of his daze and released Cye. He hadn't meant to hurt his friend; he was just so shocked. How could Cye have a birthmark like Talpa's? It didn't make any sense. And yet Ryo knew now. He knew _who_ Cye's father was, and Ryo already knew this was going to be the most difficult thing any of them had ever faced, especially Cye. 

Cye stared at Ryo a bit angrily, but then he noticed something. Ryo looked like he had seen a ghost or something. He softened a bit, becoming concerned. "Ryo, what's wrong?" he asked. "What happened?"

There was no response. Ryo stood like a statue, not moving nor blinking. Cye became concerned. "RYO!!"

Ryo snapped out of it. He had to keep cool about this. He couldn't let Cye know yet. He didn't want to ruin his birthday by telling him. "I… I'm sorry, Cye," he apologized.

Cye frowned. "Ryo, what happened? You look like you saw a ghost. Are you ok?"

Ryo managed a smile, but it was a tight smile. "I'm fine, Cye. I just overreacted a little I guess."

Cye gave him a look as if he wasn't really sure if he believed his leader. He decided to let it go for now. "So when can I go in the kitchen?" he asked, looking back toward the kitchen door.

"Whenever Mia says," Ryo replied as he turned and sat down on the couch. He looked toward the TV.

Cye looked pitifully back at the kitchen door, and let out what seemed like a mournful sigh. With reluctance he sat down on the other sofa.

Outside under the window, Dais, Sekhmet, and Cale were staring at one another in shock. They had witnessed the two Ronins wrestling with each other, and saw all that had happened, including seeing the birthmark on Torrent's forehead. 

"Torrent… is…" Sekhmet trailed off, unable to speak. He did not like this at all. His number one enemy was his master's son. Something wasn't right here. This had to be nothing more than a bad dream. 

"I can't believe this!" Cale snarled. 

"We have no time for this!" Dais ordered. "We must report to Master Talpa about this!" 

And the three of them vanished, just as a white Porsche came up the driveway.

Rowen's eyes blinked several times as he heard voices downstairs. He groaned a bit and rolled onto his stomach, placing his pillow over his head. Why were they being so loud? he groaned to himself. It was way too early to be up in his opinion. Come to think of it, what time was it? He glanced over at his clock, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes so he could see the numbers better. Oh, it was after 11 a.m. He closed his eyes determined to get a few more hours of sleep.

His eyes suddenly shot open as he remembered what day it was. Crap! He jumped out of bed and raced around to get dressed as fast as he could.

Talpa stared at his three Warlords as if he couldn't believe what they had just told him. His eyes flashed red and his voice was low as he spoke. "Are you sure?"

Dais nodded. "Yes, master. We all saw the same thing. Even Wildfire saw it himself."

"Hm…" Talpa said to himself as he thought about this. In a way this was bad. He had no idea he would be related to a Ronin brat. But then again, it might prove useful as well. He looked down at his warlords. "Bring Torrent to me. I don't care how you do it, just do it. And make sure he's alive!"

The three Warlords nodded in obedience as they vanished into the tin air. Talpa leaned back, his eyes flashing as he waited.

Cye frowned, unable to see through the blindfold that had suddenly been put over his eyes. "Guys, what's going on? What are you doing?"

"Just trust us, Cye," Kento said with a grin as he led Cye to Mia's jeep. 

Cye wondered what was going on as he felt himself being placed into the back of the jeep. He could tell he was sitting next to Rowen, how he knew he wasn't sure. Kento climbed in beside him, and Sage crawled in after Kento with Yulie on his lap.

"We ready?" Mia asked them all.

"Yep," Kento said cheerfully as he leaned back into his seat.

Mia nodded and started the jeep up and drove off, heading for the one place they had all been planning since Sage announced the news last night. And Cye continued to wonder where they were taking him.


	5. Chapt. 5

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(The character Emily in this chapter and in the future chapters of this fic does not belong to me! She belongs to Tigergirl. I am only borrowing her, and if you want to use her you have to ask Tigergirl!)

Twisted Reality

Chapter 5

The girl was sitting up high in the tree near her home. She was silent, barely thinking, and yet she could not help but feel that there was danger close by. But what could she do about it? She felt alone, and knew there was no way her parents, grandfather, or her sisters would believe her. But.. Wait.. Sage might believe her. He always took her feeling serious and usually gave her good advice as well. And besides it would give an excuse to see her big brother, and to see that hot boy Cye again. Okay, she admitted it. She had a crush on him, but who wouldn't? Beautiful eyes, nice looking hair, smile to die for, and an accent to kill for. 

The feeling came again, and she shuddered. Whatever was coming, she had to act fast. She leapt off the branch and landed on her feet, then headed for the house. She walked past her oldest sister Yayoi and her boyfriend making out, muttering, "Get a room!" and headed right for the phone, hoping no one was on it. Thankfully no one was. 

With trembling fingers she dialed several numbers before the phone finally rang, and rang, and rang, and rang some more. She let out a sigh. Finally there was a click, and she was about to speak, when the answering machine kicked in. 'Hi, you have reached Mia Koji's. I am not here right now, but please leave a message after the tone. Thank you.'

She waited for the tone, and then spoke. "Sage, this is Emily. I need to talk to you right away! It's very important!" She hung up, and let out a sigh as she ran her fingers through her silver bangs. "I bet he went out on another date," she mumbled.

"Guys, when can I take this stupid blindfold off?" Cye whined from the backseat. He had been wearing the thing for who knows how long and he was getting frustrated. What were they doing anyway? They were being extremely secretive and not even Mia would tell him where they were going. And Ryo, Ryo was very quiet. In fact he had been quiet since he had put Cye in that chokehold earlier.

"As soon as we say you can, Cye," Kento said with a big grin.

Cye let out a low growl which made Kento grin even more. Sage kept his face straight, not wanting to blow the surprise.

The jeep continued to travel down the road, heading for its destination. To Cye the ride seemed long and slow, and with every minute he was tempted to take the blindfold off. But his friends would make sure it went right back on. So the only thing he could do was keep his patience and hope it would come off soon. With an exasperated sigh he leaned his head back against the seat and quietly fumed to himself. 

Up in the front passenger seat Ryo kept his thoughts to himself. Confusion swirled around him leaves on a windy autumn day. What he had seen earlier made no sense to him at all, and he could have sworn he was only dreaming. But it had been so real, so horrifying, so unbelievable. So, did this mean that Cye would no longer be their friend? He hoped not. Cye was a very good friend, caring, compassionate, a good shoulder to lean on when one was feeling burdened. It wasn't fair, Ryo thought. Cye was a good kid. What had he done to deserve such a hideous birthmark of Talpa's? Ryo didn't know. All he knew was that they were going to Aqua World to have a good time, and Ryo was intent on not spoiling it for everybody. But somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he had this feeling of dread.

Another hour seemed to pass before the jeep finally pulled into a large parking lot. Thousands of vehicles were parked side by side in rows upon rows. The Ronins, Mia, and Yulie all got out, and Cye was standing there, wondering what was going on as they did not take off the blindfold.

Rowen and Sage grabbed the bag of presents they had, and sneaked away toward the entrance of the park after Sage had given everyone their tickets and giving Cye's ticket to Kento.

Cye sighed in frustration. "Guys, can I please take this stupid blindfold off?"

"Nope!" Kento said rather proudly. Cye growled. He was about to rip the thing off his eyes when he felt a gentle hand on his own.

"Easy, Cye. Just a few minutes longer," Mia promised.

Cye grumbled quietly, but reluctantly left it alone.

For a few minutes they waited there until everyone but Cye saw Sage and Rowen disappear into the park. Then Cye felt himself being guided along as they started to walk.

"Hey, what's going on? What are you guys doing?"

"You'll see, Cye!" Kento replied with enthusiasm. 

Yulie could not help hiding a chuckle. Cye seemed pretty funny when he growled in annoyance like that. It was rare for Cye to get angry or annoyed and to the young boy it seemed quite comical. Yulie felt a hand gently squeeze his shoulder and he looked back up at Ryo. Ryo smiled at him, and he smiled back and they continued to walk. The trip was taking awfully long to Cye though. He was certain he would scream bloody blue murder at any time now.

Finally what seemed like an eternity later; actually a twenty minutes later to be precise; they stopped. Kento was grinning from ear to ear as he went behind Cye and slowly undid the blindfold. 

Cye's eyes blinked several times, reacting to the bright light that shone upon them. He rubbed them a bit, getting used to brightness again, then heard two sets of footsteps coming toward them, and a familiar voice say, "Happy Birthday, Cye."

Cye looked up in astonishment and with extreme delightfulness. He couldn't believe it! They were at the one place he had wanted to visit the most, but had never gotten the chance to. He looked at Sage with almost disbelief. Disbelief was quickly overcome by gratitude.

"Sage, how can I ever thank you for this?" he cried elatedly as he stared at the main entrance.

Sage chuckled. "By having a good time."

"Come on, you guys," Rowen added. "That ticket master is waiting for your tickets." He and Sage disappeared back into the park, and waited on their friends. Cye, Kento, Ryo, Mia, and Yulie; whose hand was kept in Mia's to prevent him from wandering off, handed the ticket master their tickets and were allowed access within the park. 


	6. Chapt. 6

****

Twisted Reality

Chapter 6

Cye couldn't believe this day. Never in a million years had he expected to be taken to one of the most expensive places in Japan. Aqua World had everything he could ask for. A water zoo holding killer whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea turtles, sperm whales, humpback whales, blue whales, beluga whales, baleen whales, white whales, narwhales, bowhead whales, gray whales, sharks, featuring the Great White Shark, the tiger shark, the hammerhead shark, port Jackson shark, gray shark, wobbegone shark, whale shark, silky shark, nurse shark, several thousand kinds of fish, squids, octopuses, rays, manatees, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and more sea creatures. 

Besides the sea animals there was also entertainment where dolphins, killer whales, seals, sea lions, walruses performed for audiences. There were games to play, rides to ride. Lots of concession stands to get food and drinks. Cye wanted to see everything at once. It was hard to keep with his friends as he wanted to desperately run off and see everything.

"Wow, would you look at this place?" Rowen said in amazement as they walked through the crowds.

"This place is packed!" Ryo exclaimed. It was the first sentence he had spoken since leaving the house. Yet even he was amazed by how many people were at Aqua World. He had no idea this many people were into fish like Cye was. There must have been about five thousand people here altogether.

"Yulie, stay close," Mia warned. "I don't want you getting lost."

"Can we see the killer whales do their tricks?" Yulie asked.

"It's up to, Cye," Sage said with a gentle smile. 

Yulie looked toward Cye with hopeful eyes, but Cye was already making his way toward the area where the killer whales were kept. His friends followed him, and soon they all found seats in the stadium. Mia brought out her camera as they waited for the show to begin. As of now the audience was quietly talking amongst themselves, and Yulie waited impatiently for the show to start.

Cye smiled down at the little boy thinking to himself that this must be Yulie's first time at this place. He remembered how he had been as a kid and seeing all of these sea animals for the first time. It had been a thrilling moment in his life. 

Talpa was getting impatient as his Warlords had not returned with Torrent yet. His eyes flashed red and a mirror appeared before him, showing the five Ronins, the woman, and the boy all sitting in a stadium surrounding a gigantic water tank. They appeared to be waiting on something, but whatever it was, who knew. Talpa focused his attention on Torrent, glaring at the young boy as he looked eagerly at the tanks. He knew Torrent was his son and soon the Ronin would learn.. He would also learn that Talpa would be able to do anything he wanted to him, and the Ronins would not be able to stop him.

"Those fool Warlords of mine had better hurry," he growled under his breath.

Somewhere else in that crowd stood three men dressed in armor. People glanced at them briefly, but figured they were actors and continued on their way. They stood there quietly, surveying the crowds, looking for one particular boy. There were many teenage boys who had Torrent's hair color, but they knew none of them were him. They had to get the Ronin and fast otherwise Talpa would punish them severally. They moved forward, searching and searching, somehow sensing he was close by. This put a grin of evil on their faces as they continued to follow Torrent's trail.

The killer whale leapt into the air and did an amazing back flip, splashing the audience as he came back down into the water with a massive splash. The audience cheered and hooted as the killer whale came up again and did another performance trick. Yulie was on the edge of his seat now, watching with awe. Ryo kept a firm grip on the young boy, fearing he might fall over the bleachers or bump into someone sitting on the lower bleachers.

"Wow, look at the thing!" Kento cried as the killer whale did a half torpedo twist.

Cye laughed. "Kento, it's a not thing. It's a killer whale, specifically known as an orca."

Kento shrugged with a grin. "Yeah, whatever, but it was awesome!"

Cye grinned in agreement as he watched the killer whale continue to perform. Several more performances were made by the killer whale before the trainers allowed him to return to his resting place. The audience cheered, hooted, and applauded, but Cye knew the killer whale would not understand any of it. He had only done what he had been trained to do, nothing more. 

"So is this it?" Rowen asked.

Sage shrugged an I don't know, and Cye shook his head. "I think they're gonna have the dolphins perform next, but it may be a few minutes or so."

Rowen nodded and leaned back, then looked toward Ryo with worry. "Ryo, you've been awfully quiet today."

Ryo frowned a bit. He should have expected one of them to pick up his behavior today. But it was hard to play happy and carefree when he knew one of his friends was carrying Talpa's birthmark. It was totally unbelievable, and what was worse, fearing the fact that Talpa might find out, and the possibility of losing their friend. He knew he had to tell the others about this, but he was afraid to tell them in front of Cye on his birthday. "I… just have a lot going through my mind right now, Rowen," Ryo answered the best he could. "Nothing to worry about."

Rowen nodded, but Sage cast Ryo a weird glance. He's hiding something from us, the bearer of Halo thought to himself. That concerned him a little, but he figured Ryo would tell them when he was ready.

He leaned back with a sigh and watched as the next show started as three dolphins swam out to begin their performance. The dolphins did all kinds of neat tricks, from backward and forward somersaults, leaping through hoops, playing water basketball, and other tricks.

The audience cheered and applauded. The show lasted for fifteen minutes before it was over. Mia, Yulie, and the Ronins all stood up and begin to descend down the stadium. They visited other places, rode on rides that even Kento thought was cool, played games, enjoyed the food and beverages they bought, and basically had a good time. 

Finally Sage saw the time and nodded to the others who quickly caught the message. Before Cye could react Sage quickly put a blindfold over his eyes.

"Hey!" Cye protested. "Why are you putting this back on me again?"

Sage smiled even though Cye couldn't see him. "It's a surprise, Cye."

Cye was incredulous. "Another one? You guys are spoiling me."

"Hey, you only turn sixteen once, you know," Rowen said.

They guided him to a building that looked plain on the outside. Once inside, Ryo removed the blindfold off their friend. A crowd of his friends were all already there as they all shouted surprise in unison. Cye stared in surprise and happiness. The room was decorated with fish and seahorse balloons, there were light blue and white streamers, a piñata made out of a killer whale hung from the ceiling. The table was covered with a table cloth that had paintings of fish, crabs, seahorses, dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and others. There were plates of several kinds of food, from hamburgers to pizza to pretzel and chips and hotdogs, cookies and candies, and all kinds of pop. 

Cye's eyes quivered. He was truly touched by all of this. "You guys…."

"Say no more, Cye," Kento said. "Let's just party!"

The party went on in full swing as the guests begin to enjoy themselves, talking with each other, dancing to music, and mingling and making new friends. Cye had lost count someone had wished him a happy birthday, but he didn't mind. This was the best party he had ever had.

Finally the cake was brought out, and the guests all sing Happy Birthday to Cye. When they finished, Cye blew out the candles with one puff, and they clapped. The cake was cut and served with icecream, and more talking begin. But Cye noticed one person was missing.

"Hey, Sage, where's Emily?"

Sage gave an odd look as he looked around the room. "That's strange. I told her all about it."

Cye frowned, and Kento said, "Hey, chill. She's probably just late. You know she always forgets things."

Cye nodded and turned back to his party. He was a little disappointed though. He had been hoping to see her here, but then again there was still time for her to come. It wasn't long after when the gifts were brought forth. Cye had received all kinds of gifts from his friends, and he though the gift Yulie had gotten him was cute. He wore it around his neck proudly which made Yulie happy that he liked it. He also like the gifts his Ronin friends had gotten him, and was almost wishing this day would not end. 

But it wasn't long before the other guests started leaving, wishing Cye and his friends all a good day.

Cye was frowning now.

"Cye?" Mia spoke softly with concern in her eyes.

"I thought she would come," he said sadly.

They frowned. It wasn't hard to see that Cye liked Emily, and Sage already knew that Emily had a crush on Cye. He had seen her writing Cye's name constantly on her notebooks with hearts on it. She had even gone to drawing Cye anywhere she could. He felt bad now, and was a bit angry at his sister.

"Hey, don't worry, Cye. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation," Rowen said trying to brighten the young Ronin up.

Cye nodded silently, and Ryo frowned deeply. Mia was about to ask Ryo if something was wrong as she had noticed he had been quiet most of the day, but suddenly Ryo's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. He had that look in his eyes whenever he was preparing to fight, and it frightened Mia.

Suddenly the other four felt it as well, but nothing of them were prepared for the giant chain that suddenly broke through the wall, heading right for Cye.


	7. Chapt. 7

****

Twisted Reality

Chapter 7.

"Cye, look out!" Ryo suddenly shouted. He leapt in front of Cye and used his arm to block off the chain. All five Ronins were now in their subarmors, and they were now facing three dark warlords who had suddenly burst into the building. The five of them stood close together as Mia stood back with Yulie firmly behind her. 

"What do you want?!" Ryo demanded, although he was very afraid what the answer might be.

"Probably our armors!" Kento spat, his blue eyes flashing. He was in the mood for a fight now. They had just ruined his best friend's birthday party and they were going to pay for that.

"Oh, Master Talpa would like your armors, but that's not the reason we've come!" Cale sniggered.

"What do you mean?" Sage demanded, never letting go of his defense mode. 

"We've come for something else," Sekhmet added with a smirk on his face.

None of them liked that look on his face, and it worried them with no end. For a few minutes no one said or did anything, which bothered the Ronins. Usually the Warlords would attack and keep attacking until either they were defeated, or had captured them. Something was not right here, and Rowen was trying as hard as he could to figure it all out.

"Mia, what's going on?" Yulie asked in confusion. He was afraid and was clutching her hand tightly. 

Mia wasn't sure herself. She knew something wasn't right here. The Warlords were just standing there, doing absolutely nothing. And then it happened. With a war cry that came from Sekhmet, the three charged. 

Ryo grunted as he felt himself slam up against the wall, pinned by Dais. The Warlord raised his weapon above his head, prepared to smash it against the Ronin's skull when a heavily body force slammed into him from the side.

"Kento!" Ryo shouted, watching his friend wrestle with the Warlord of Illusion. He was worried about his friends, and this whole fight worried him. He had a very bad feeling that something was going to happen this very day.

Sage was going full force against Cale. Their swords struck again and again as darkness and light seemed to battle it out in the room. One minute the room would be dark, the next full of light. The Warrior of Halo realized that Cale was trying to keep it dark for a reason, but whatever reason that was he didn't know. He only knew he had to stop him.

Rowen and Cye were battling against Sekhmet the best they could. It was like fighting two warlords in Rowen's opinion. Then again he wasn't use to battling Sekhmet like Cye was. Still he pressed on, throwing punches, kicks, and anything else he could.

Sekhmet lashed out with his swords, and the two Ronins leapt away to avoid being struck by the venomous blades of his. 

Perfect, the Warlords realized, seeing that Cye was away from his friends. Cale raised his swords and let out even more energy as it got even darker. No one could see anything barely, and Sage was having a hard time bringing the light back. Sweat poured down his face, and he wished in vain he could use his attack, but Mia and Yulie were here. It was just like before…. 

None of the other Ronins used their surekills either. They were afraid of hurting Mia and Yulie and each other. Ryo was cursing silently. There was nothing he could do but hope that Sage could bring some light back to them. It was getting so bad he was considering using the Inferno on the three Dark Warlords.

But none of them were prepared for what did happen next. They heard a struggle from somewhere in the darkened room, followed by a loud yelp, before silence came upon them suddenly. The darkness faded away, and they stood there in horror, checking to see if they were all there. Mia and Yulie were safe, thankfully, Sage was there, Rowen was not far from him, Kento was by Mia and Yulie, Ryo stood in the center of the room, and Cye.. Cye…

Kento suddenly screamed in horror. "CYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And Ryo closed his eyes in shame, once more blaming himself for what had just happened that very day.

Talpa's eyes flash red the minute Torrent was brought before him. The boy was unconscious as he had struggled against them, but that was to be expected. 

"Excellent," Talpa bellowed. "You have done well, my Dark Warlords."

The three of were full of pride hearing those exact words and they bowed low before him. 

Talpa raised his hand upward and Torrent came floating to him. He caused the unconscious boy to lay in his lap as he stared down at his young and innocent face. Another hand gesture caused the armor to disappear, followed by the subarmor, leaving Cye in regular clothing. Talpa sat there staring down at him. He brushed his hair back, and his eyes flashed brightly, seeing the familiar birthmark above Torrent's left eyebrow. A wicked smile came to him and he laughed evilly, the sound of his laugh echoing through the room.

Finally he looked toward his warlords. "Prepare a room for my son. He will not being go back to his friends. He will soon learn of his new life and he _will _enjoy it."

Emily couldn't believe she had forgotten Cye's birthday. How could she have been so dense about it! Over and over she was tempted to bang her head against the wall, but she knew that wouldn't do any good to her. So she hurried and got dressed into something more decent and practically shattered her bank open so she could gather up enough money to buy a quick present for Cye. On went her shoes, on went her coat, and out the door she ran. 

Emily ran as fast as she could, wanting to get there, then she suddenly remembered they had gone to Aqua World which was about twenty miles east of Tokyo. She groaned loudly and stopped running. She was about a block and a half from the house, and she couldn't decide whether to go back and ask for a ride to Cye's party, or hail a taxi cab. The options ran through her mind and she was having trouble making it up. Then another thought occurred to her. If she went back and asked for a ride, she would be most likely told no, or would have to wait until they got ready to take her. She decided the taxi would be the best service and she quickly stepped forward to the curb of the rode and held her hand out, waving frantically as vehicles passed by her. 

"Yo, taxi!!" she shouted loudly.

A taxi immediately pulled over to the curb, and she climbed in the back, shut the door, and fastened her seatbelt. "Aqua World please."

And the driver headed off in that direction.

A silent thought ran through Emily's mind as they drove. I hope I'm not too late. Little did she know that thought would have more meaning to it that she would never want to imagine. 


	8. Chapt. 8

****

Twisted Reality

Chapter 8

Ryo couldn't believe it, then again he could. He had seen the birthmark for himself, but had wanted to deny it, to deny everything that had happened. Everything was in a uproar as Kento was crying in frustration, cursing loudly and throwing pressure everywhere. Mia was worried and holding a crying Yulie to her.

Sage was in shock. He had been hoping that Cye's birthday would go well, but it turned out to be his worse day. And now Sage was beginning to wish they had all been prepared. They should have expected for this to happen, but one thought crossed his mind. Why had they taken only Cye?

"Guys, we have to do something!" Rowen said in exasperation.

"Rowen's right," Mia said. "We have to get Cye back."

They nodded in agreement and were about to set off to rescue Cye when they heard a new voice. "Hey, what happened here?"

They all turned, and Emily stood there, gazing around the room with a deep frown on her face. She did not see Cye, and was thinking maybe he had gone off somewhere to see the fish or something, but as she looked more closely at the others, she could see their faces were full anger and worry.

"Guys?" she asked again with concern as she stepped closer to them.

"Emily.. " her brother Sage said softly. "Something… happened…"

Her eyes immediately became full of concern. "What? What happened. It's Cye isn't it? Or are you guys playing a joke on me?"

"It's no joke," Mia said sadly. 

"You better sit down, Emily." Ryo said firmly. "It's time you knew."

Emily sat down and was wondering just what was going on. All of them had serious looks on their faces as if they were about to tell the deepest secret of their lives. 

Cye's eyes fluttered several times and he let out a soft moan as he shifted. He heard a voice then. "Hello, Torrent."

Cye's eyes snapped open at the familiar voice, and he about screamed when he saw who was above him. And then he about passed out when he realized he was on his lap, being held down against his will. He struggled and kicked to get free, but Talpa held him tightly with one hand.

"It's no use, Torrent. You can't get free. So stop trying. It is useless."

Cye glared at him. "Let me go, Talpa! You have no right to keep me here!"

Talpa chuckled. "Oh, I have all the right in the world, _my son._"

Cye froze then, staring up at him with shock. "What… what did you just say?"

Talpa's eyes glowed red. "You heard me. And it's true, Torrent. You and I are flesh and blood."

"That's a lie!"

"I hate to disappoint you, Ronin, but it's true. See for yourself." He made Cye turn around and look into a viewing mirror and showed him the birthmark above his left eyebrow. Cye stared at his birthmark, not sure where it had come from, and then he gasped when Talpa showed his own. 

"Now do you see, boy?"

"It's not true!" he bellowed angrily. "You put there yourself!"

"Ha! Why would I want a measly weakling like you for a son? You're not exactly the pick of the pride you know."

"You probably did it to hurt us, Ronins!"

Talpa's eyes flashed angrily. "And I'm going to hurt you, if you don't shut up, Torrent!"

Cye glared back at him, but he did shut up. Confusion ran through his mind. None of this could be true. His father had died before he was born. He had seen his father's birth certificate and his own, and the last names had matched. Talpa had to be lying. He refused to believe it for one second.

"Master Talpa."

Talpa looked toward the three Dark Warlords. "Yes?"

"His room is ready, master," Dais reported.

"Excellent," Talpa said as he stood up, making Cye stand up with him. He kept a firm grip on Cye as he handed the boy over to the Warlords. Cye barely noticed. He was so in so much disbelief he barely realized what was going on.

The Warlords led Cye out of the throne room and down a dimly lit hallway. They came to a room and shoved Cye inside, and then slammed the door shut and locked it. 

Cye did not bother to look around or try to get out. Instead he slumped to the floor.

"Are you saying that all five of you bear magic armor and kick evil butt trying to take over the world?"

All four of them nodded. Emily continued to stare at them in disbelief. They had to be pulling her leg. They were probably making this all up to make her pay for being late. "You guys are kidding right?"

"It's no joke," Ryo said. "We wouldn't be telling you this if it wasn't true. Our main concern is to get Cye back."

"What I want to know is why he was taken in the first place," Sage said.

"It doesn't matter!" Kento said. "We have to leave and get him now. Talpa could be torturing him!"

"We can't rush in without a plan, you guys. Talpa will have traps for all of us."

"Rowen is right," Mia said. "All of you will have to be careful."

"We know, Mia," Ryo said with a sigh as he ran his hand through his thick hair. 

"Well, if you guys are going to this place, I'm going to," Emily stated.

They all stared at her in shock. Sage quickly shook his head. "No, Emily, it's too dangerous!"

"I don't care! I live for danger! And besides, I want to see Cye come back safe."

"And he will, Emily. You can trust us to get him back."

Emily's eyes flashed. "Ryo, I'm going. Whether you like it or not!"

The two stood face to face, each one not backing down from each other. Ryo was afraid if she went she would lose her life, and he couldn't stand to see another innocent hurt.

"Ryo, let her come," Sage said softly.

"Sage, we can't!"

Sage sighed, keeping his head down. "I know we shouldn't, but I'll keep an eye on her. I promise."

Ryo kept quiet for several minutes. Finally he let out a heavy exasperated sigh. "Fine then."

Emily kept a grin to herself. Now she would be able to find out if they were lying or not. And if they were lying, she would pay them back twice as much.


	9. Chapt. 9

****

Twisted Reality

Chapter 9.

Talpa had a grin on his face and he only grinned when he was pleased with something. Oh yes, he was very pleased. He finally had Torrent, and the Ronins were on their way. He had plans to stop them in their tracks, then surprise them all with the news. He was quite eager for them to get there, but he would wait patiently. In the meantime he would show Torrent that he had power over him, and that he would learn to obey him or face the consequences of it.

His eyes flashed and the Viewing Mirror appeared. He watched Cye on his mirror with an evil grin on his face, laughing to himself as the young Ronin just continued to stare blankly at the floor.

****

Cye slowly lifted up his head finally to gaze around the small room. To him it wasn't a bedroom even of there was a bed, a dresser, and his own bathroom; no, this was a cell. A small cramped cell with no way out but through the door. He got to his feet and turned, looking at the door. And then he kicked at it. The door didn't budge. He kicked at it again and again, getting more and more frustrated when he couldn't get out. Tears ran down his cheeks and he angrily wiped them away .He let out a heavy sigh and leaned his head against the door, trying to clear his mind somehow. He knew the others would come after him and he hoped they would get there soon.

"Come on guys, where are you?" he whispered as he sank back down to the floor again. "I need you."

Talpa's eyes narrowed angrily at the mirror. "Weakling," he muttered. "I will show him not to cry, to become bitter, cold, hard, and pure evil. He will learn to hate his friends and do whatever that I please." 

Emily stared in shock at the netherealm. They had finally gone through the gates, and to her this was totally something out of a dream, or an alternative reality. The sky was almost like a green color. "So this is the netherealm?" she asked.

"Yes," Sage answered as he held his nodatchi firmly in his hand. "Stay close, Emily. I don't want you getting lost or hurt."

"I'm sure I can handle myself, brother," Emily said firmly.

Sage only shook his head seriously. "Just stay close. You don't know what you're getting into."

Emily nodded and stayed by Sage's side as the five of them set off. She noticed the area was mostly dry, but also surrounded by what looked like a large lake. There were many buildings side by side, and the whole place looked like one gargantuan maze. She was hoping they knew their way around, because she didn't want to get lost. Her thoughts turned to Cye as she worried about him. Was he all right? Was he hurt? Being tortured? She had seen many movies of people getting kidnapped and then tortured and she was hoping that wasn't happening to Cye. She would simply go crazy if it was.

Beside her, Kento had a fierce look of determination in his eyes. He was mostly angry, but he was keeping his anger in check somehow. Normally he would just rush right into battle head first. 

"Ok guys," Ryo said. "Here's what we're going to do. We go together in as one. Sage, Rowen stay be Emily and guard her if we're attacked, and no doubt we will be. Kento and White Blaze distract the soldiers. I'll look for Cye."

"I'm going with you, Ryo!" Emily declared.

Ryo looked back at her and shook his head firmly. "It's too dangerous, Emily. You already in danger as it is and I don't want to put you in anymore than necessary. Stay with Sage and Rowen."

"Ryo!" Emily cried, staring at him with determination. 

He only stared back and repeated. "Stay with Sage and Rowen," and with that he turned and leapt away, leaping over several buildings. 

Emily watched him go and let out a sigh. He couldn't tell her what to do! she fumed. She could handle herself. Why didn't anyone believe her?

"Dark Warlords!" Talpa's voice echoed through the castle. They appeared and bowed before him, awaiting his orders as he spoke. 

"It seems the Ronin Warriors have finally come to save my son. I want you to capture them all and bring them here to me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, master," said Cale.

"Yes, master," echoed Sekhmet.

"Yes, master," replied Dais. 

"Now go!" Talpa commanded.

And the three of them vanished.


	10. Chapt. 10

****

Twisted Reality

Chapter 10.

Emily stared back at the other three Ronins as they were heading on their way.. She heard Sage tell her to come on and stay with him, but she took a step backward, moving quietly as she did so. "Sorry, big bro.. But this time I can't.. Cye needs me." And she turned around and ran off, heading in her own direction.

Sage felt his sister take off and he whirled around, his violet eyes widening as he saw her running off. "EMILY! COME BACK!! WAIT!!" He started to run after her, with Kento and Rowen right behind him. They had to stop her. She could get lost, hurt, or even worse.. Sage did not want to think of Talpa capturing and torturing his little sister. He ran faster, determined to catch up to her, but then suddenly out of nowhere, three armored Warlords appeared, making the three Ronins stop in his tracks.

"What's the rush, Halo?" Cale said smirking as he held his nodatchi out in front of him. Sage returned his smirk with a glare of his own. 

"Cale," he seethed, his fists clenched tightly. The other two Ronins stood close by, all prepared and tensed for the coming fight they knew was just moments ahead.

Ryo was from the others now, and he was quickly making his way over buildings, avoiding Dynasty Soldiers, and hopefully any other unwanted being. He was still blaming himself for Cye's capture, but was trying his best not to let his blame slow him down. He could always apologize to Cye. Right now, saving him was more important. He continued on, having no idea he was being followed.

Cye suddenly jumped backward when Talpa appeared in the room. He backed away as far as he could as Talpa laughed at him. "What's wrong? Don't you wish to see your father?"

Cye's eyes narrowed angrily, but he stayed quiet. He knew any smart remark he gave could result into even more torture, which he did not want at the moment. 

Talpa came forward and smirked when the small boy cringed. He reached under Cye's chin and lifted it up, staring into his eyes. Cye tried to look away, but he was forced to look into Talpa's eyes, something he did not want to do.

"You have my eyes," Talpa said with a hint of mockery in his voice. Cye was puzzled at this. How could he have Talpa's eyes? Talpa laughed. "I suppose I could explain it to you, Torrent. Over a thousand years ago, I was a young boy living in the village of Haukunai. This was the village of barbarians and titans. My father, your grandfather was king there. As a young prince I oversaw my duties of learning how to rule in his favor. I was almost the spitting image you, minus the light brown hair. I had black hair and it was long. As I grew I became vicious, cruel, and downright cold. You yourself know this today. And you know of the battle I had with the Ancient, and of the battle between you five Ronins and myself. I am sure all of this is a shock to you is it not?"

Cye did not want to answer him so he kept quiet. This angered Talpa and he shook him, causing a bruise to appear on Cye's chin. "Answer me, boy!"

Cye grimaced and closed his eyes, then he suddenly yelped in pain when Talpa struck him across the face. 

"You will answer me when I talk to you!"

Cye opened up his eyes to see Talpa's eyes glowing red. This frightened him. He really needed his friends to save him. Who knew what else Talpa would do to him? Not wanting to be struck anymore, he slowly nodded, his face burning with pain. 

Talpa smirked. "Good boy. And technically it is a shock to myself as well. I could have had a stronger son than you, but once your powers start to surface I will personally train you."

Now Cye was confused. "Powers? What powers? What are you talking about?"

Talpa laughed. "You have added powers boy! It runs in the family, on my side. It passes down through each bloodline. And with you being a Ronin your powers will surpass that of Wildfire's White Inferno Armor. And I intend to use those powers to destroy the Ronin Warriors and conquer the mortal realm known as Earth. And you, my son, are going to help me accomplish this."

Cye was in much shock now, but he knew he could not help Talpa no matter what. The problem was how was he going to stop the tyrant?


	11. Chapt. 11

****

Twisted Reality

Chapter 11.

Sage grimaced as the three Warlords moved dangerously close to them. They knew they should have expected this. He did not want Emily to be here, but she was so stubborn. He knew she only cared for Cye which why she had come in the first place, but he wished for once she would have stayed put.. And now with her being alone somewhere in the Dynasty.. What if Talpa got a hold of her?

"So Ronin runts, ready to die?" Sekhmet laughed cruelly.

"No one's gonna be dying here, Sekhmet!" Sage retorted angrily.

"We'll see, Halo," Dais said coolly. And all three Warlords leapt at each of the three Ronins.

Ryo spun around when he felt like someone was following him. He saw no one, but he couldn't shake off that feeling someone had been following him. His eyes narrowed as he looked back and forth, holding his swords outward in a defense mode if necessary. "I know you're there! Face me!"

A figure came out of hiding, and looked at him almost meekly, but meekness was quickly replaced with concern and something else.

Ryo frowned. "Emily, didn't I say to stay with Sage?"

"Sorry, Ryo, but I'm looking for Cye too. And you won't change my mind about it."

He stared into her eyes, seeing the determination in them. He didn't want to endanger her, but she was so stubborn she often reminded him of himself. Finally he nodded. "Alright, but stay close, okay? I don't want you getting hurt or lost."

"I'll be fine." Nevertheless she did stay with him as they continued on through the dynasty.

Cye wasn't feeling too well after Talpa had left moments ago. He laid stomach down on the bed, tears running down his cheeks. What Talpa had said earlier kept going over and over again in his head. He was scared, worried, and confused, and all the emotions kept swimming in an endless torture making his spirit scream in agony. 

Sage's blade swung wildly at Cale, missing him by an inch. He was frustrated and it was hard to focus on the battle when he was so worried about his sister. He kept praying she was all right, but even that was a difficulty in itself as Cale retaliated back with his own sword. The two blades crashed against each other in an endless battle of light and darkness, neither overpowering the other, and neither sure of who would win.

Kento and Dais were head to head with their own fight, each trying to outdo the other. Kento kept yelling at Dais, angry because Dais was showing illusions which Kento had fallen for three times already. The Warrior of Justice was getting more than just angry and he was preparing to use his surekill if he had to.

Rowen dodged away from Sekhmet as the Warlord of Venom swung a blade at him, then went after him with the other blade. Rowen felt it strike his armor and he gasped. He quickly reacted by using his bow to defend himself.

"Give up, Ronin!" Sekhmet snarled, gazing into Rowen's blue eyes.

"The Ronin Warriors never give up!" Rowen retorted.

Sekhmet smiled a dangerous smile. "Then prepare to regret that decision." And his sword suddenly came down.

Ryo suddenly sensed several soldiers coming and he pulled Emily back and shielded her as they both hid. Together they watched the soldiers march pass.

Emily stared at them with wide eyes, then looked questionably at Ryo. He was very quiet and still, like a breathing statue. She turned her head again, and watched them pass by. They look weak, she thought to herself. I bet I could take them on. 

The soldiers were gone soon, and Ryo moved out, making sure Emily stayed with him. "Ryo, why did we hide? I thought you could take them?"

"We don't need confrontation right now, Emily. I can take those soldiers, but it's best I save my strength to find Cye. I might have to fight Talpa. And besides I needed to stay with you to protect you. They could get you as well."

Emily stayed quiet and nodded. She continued to follow him. The trip through the maze was long and she was surprised to see how well Ryo knew his way around the place. It was like he had done this before. And the more she thought of it, the more convinced she was that he had.


	12. Chapt 12

****

Twisted Reality

Chapter 12.

Ryo kept dodging around buildings, ducking down when necessary and making Emily duck down as well. He was sure that twice they had almost been caught, but had managed to hide just in time. By now more soldiers were all over the place, and it was hard to keep a low profile. He was worried that sooner or later they would be caught. He didn't care what happened to him really, he was more concerned about Emily. She had no armor, no powers, no way to protect herself. He would have to protect her the best he could. But he was touched in a way as well. This brave young girl was risking her own life to help him find and save Cye. That took a lot of guts, and he admired her for it. 

They continued to move on, heading for one particular building that towered above all others. Emily took a glance at it, and shuddered a bit. Talk about ugly, she thought. Why would anyone want to put poor Cye in there? She bit her lip, hoping that Cye was all right as she was tempted to run full force right into the castle. But she knew that would be senseless as she would have no idea where to go once she was inside. She was trusting that Ryo would. And so she continued to follow him.

Talpa watched the entire fight take place on his Viewing Mirror with a grin on his face. He could see that Hardrock was getting quite frustrated with all the illusions Dais of Illusion was pulling on him, Strata was getting thrashed around by Sekhmet and could barely even stand, Halo was doing his best against Cale, but even he looked ready to fall. Soon it would all be over for them.

Sage wielded his sword and struck it against Cale's over and over again. He could feel the strength of the Dark Warlord weighing against him, and he knew he had only a few choices, one he could just surrender to Cale and safe himself from being killed, but then end up being killed later anyway, or two, he could continue on fighting to the best of his ability, save his friends and himself, and put Cale out of commission for good. But as he fought against Cale, he knew the situation seemed almost hopeless as he was getting pretty weary. 

"Give up, Ronin!" Cale shouted as he struck against Sage again. 

Sage grunted and staggered back and held up his sword for defense. The sword of Halo swung left and right, up and down, blocking each attack. He kept being pushed backward though, his strength was leaving him more and more, and he felt on the verge of collapse. 

Cale grinned evilly down at him, a sneer on his face. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Ronin of Halo succumbed.

Rowen was pretty injured himself and it was all he could do to stand upon his own two feet. Sekhmet had sliced his venom swords against him, and he knew the venom was spreading through his veins faster than he could anticipate. He felt very weak, but he knew he couldn't give in. He knew his friends were suffering, and knew he had to help them in someway. With every strength he could muster he cocked an arrow onto his bow and drew back the string as tight as he could, letting power build up into it. There was a scream from nearby and he winced with pain, knowing that it was Sage who had screamed in pain. With a sudden fury he unleashed his full attack. "Arrow Shock Wave!" The attack went out full force, creating a blinding light. There were screams of pain echoing through the air, but Rowen heard none of them. He had fallen to the ground unconscious.

Cye sat up from the bed and dried his eyes. He knew he could not stay here any longer. He had to escape. He climbed off the bed, and begin to feel his way around, checking every possible place for a hidden door. So far there wasn't any, but he didn't give up. He could sense his friends were looking for him, and he thought best to help him if he escaped and found them as well. He continued to search the walls, the floor, even the ceiling of the room. With a heavy sigh at finding no trap doors he went into the bathroom. He begin searching there as well, hoping beyond hope he would find one. Finally he was about to give up when he looked above him. There, sitting in the ceiling like a miracle was a register shaft. He quickly climbed on top of the toilet seat and begin to work it loose so he could gain access into it. He quietly lowered the cover down, but held onto it, as he used his acrobatic skills to climb up into the shaft. Luckily for him it was just big enough for his size. He easily pulled the cover back up and secured it into place, then turned and begin to crawl down through the shaft as quickly and silently as he could. He was escaping one way or another.


	13. Chapt. 13

****

Twisted Reality

Chapt 13.

"How much further is it?" Emily asked Ryo. So far they had been walking, or running, and sometimes Ryo had to grab Emily and jump over buildings with her. She was amazed at all of this, but she was getting a bit impatient. She wanted to get there now and save Cye, then hurt those who had kidnapped him. 

"About a mile yet," he replied grimly. He knew he could just run full speed and be there in no time, but it was hard to do so when Emily was there. Yet, he wasn't going to leave her behind. He would protect both her and free Cye.

"A mile?!" Emily stared in shock at him.. She could tell that he wasn't joking about this. "Well then what are we waiting for?!" Before Ryo even begin to realize it, she had suddenly taken off full speed toward the castle. His eyes opened wide, and he grimaced in worry a bit, then hurried up and caught up to her in no time. He didn't scold her for running off like that, cause he would have done the same thing. The two continued to run toward the castle, hoping they would get there in time. Who knew what mindless torture Cye was being put through right now. The two continued running toward the castle, their hearts pounding in their chests. Suddenly Ryo came to a complete stop and drew both his swords, his body tensed and his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked as she stared at the two blades gleaming in the air. She never got an answer because suddenly a figure appeared and attacked both her and Ryo. She screamed and ducked down to avoid having her head cut off with that axe like weapon. 

Ryo leapt into the air and slashed his swords against the Dynasty soldier, slicing it in half. It crumbled to the ground and the mist rose up out of it and vanished into thin air. 

Emily stared in shock at what she had witnessed. She was willing to bet there was more to this than anyone was telling her.

More soldiers came and attacked and Ryo fought against them. His swords swung through the air, taking off a limb or two. He flipped one soldier over him, kicked another behind him, elbowed one in the chest, and sliced another's head off.

Emily watched him fight, trying to stay out of the way. She counted to see how many soldiers there were. Twenty-eight altogether. Could Ryo really handle that many? she wondered. She didn't believe so. She spotted a good size stone lying beside her and picked it up. She took careful aim and threw it at the nearest tin can, striking it in the head as hard as she could. It collapsed forward right onto Ryo's sword and was no more. Another one sneaked up behind her, and Ryo saw it. "Emily! Watch out!" he cried.

Emily turned around and almost shrieked out, but then remembered the martial arts lessons she had been taught. She grabbed the soldier by the arm and flipped it over her head. It crashed onto the ground, and she quickly stole it's weapon and stabbed it through the chest as she had seen Ryo do. It vanished like the other destroyed ones. 

Ryo was relieved and continued to fight, slashing them with his swords and sometimes using his body against them.

Emily continued to help fight against them, using the stolen weapon to beat them. These guys aren't so tough, she thought. 

Ryo quickly finished the rest of them off, then looked toward Emily to see if she was okay. To his relief she was, and she had proved to him to be a big help. "Thanks for helping me, and for saving my neck," he said.

"No problem, flame head," she said as she joined his side.

Ryo said nothing more as he turned and started his way toward the castle.

"Come on," he said, and turned and started The sooner they saved Cye the better she'd feel.

Talpa was furious when he discovered that Cye was missing. He had just opened up the door to his room and had discovered it was empty and so was the bathroom. An angry growl erupted from his throat and he stormed out, calling more than fifty soldiers to him. They came immediately and bowed, awaiting orders from him. "My son has disappeared. Find him and bring him to me!" he bellowed.

They quickly left to obey his order. 

He returned to his throne room and sat down with an angry look in his eyes. That boy will learn to obey me one or another, even if I have to beat him half to death, he thought to himself.

His Warlords suddenly appeared before him and collapsed to the floor. He rolled his eyes. "What happened?"

"We failed getting the Ronins…," Cale groaned in pain.

"What?" Talpa's tone had a dangerous sound to it. That made them cower and avoid looking up at him. They knew they would be punished for this. They were right. Black electricity surrounded them, electrocuting them, adding more pain to their agony already. They screamed in pain and collapsed, and Talpa glared down at them, eyes flashing red. "Never fail me again!" he warned them.

"Yes….Master Talpa," they replied with groans. 

Talpa glared at them again then looked toward his viewing mirror. He saw three unconscious Ronins which puzzled him. "If they defeated you, how did they loose consciousness?" he demanded as he looked back at his Warlords.

They looked at the screen, puzzled. It was Dais who figured it out. "Perhaps they lost consciousness from the injuries they received from us before Strata unleashed his surekill on us."

"Go after them and bring them to me!" Talpa commanded. 

"Yes, master." The three struggled to their feet and vanished into thin air.

Talpa leaned back against his throne and waited impatiently.

Cye continued to crawl through the shaft, wishing he had his armor orb. He knew he would have to find it and get it back, otherwise he would be of no help to his friends when they came to save him. He came to the end of the shaft and discovered he had only two ways to go: left or right. But which way was it? He bit his lip with a frown. If he chose the wrong way it would lead him back to Talpa, but if he chose the right way it would mean freedom. He knew he didn't have much time to choose. Already he could hear Dynasty soldiers marching in search of him, and he was glad they couldn't see through ceilings or walls, otherwise he would have been caught by now. He held his breath as he listened to them marching underneath him as he tried to decide which way to go. Finally after a few minutes he chose the left way, and began to crawl his way through. 

On and on he crawled, trying to be as silent as he could lest he made a noise and someone heard him. He knew he had more enemies in this place than friends right now, and he wasn't even sure how soon his own friends would get to him. 

Eventually he came to the end and disappointment overcame his young face. The end was completely blocked off with no end. He held in a sigh and begin to crawl backwards, not having enough room to turn fully around. This continued on for more than a few minutes until he gained enough space to turn around. This time he chose the opposite direction of going right, instead of left.

The crawling seem to take forever as he continued on, and he was starting to get tired. He thought about resting for just a few minutes, but knew it would be too dangerous to do so. Finally to his relief he came to the end. He looked through the register cover and into the room, checking to see if anyone was in there. He saw that it was empty and was about to climb down out of the shaft, when suddenly the door at the end of the room opened up. Cye's eyes widen when he saw three Warlords entered with one Ronin over each of their shoulders. The young Ronin frowned deeply. Sage, Kento, and Rowen were all unconscious and pretty wounded. That angered him, but he knew he couldn't save them on his own. He would need help. Ryo.. They didn't have Ryo.. Was Ryo still free? He hoped so. With Ryo being free they would have a better chance at saving the others.

Cye waited until Sekhmet, Dais, and Cale had vanished from the room, before coming down out of the shaft. He quickly replaced the cover, then made his way across the room and out the same door he had seen the Warlords come in.

Talpa smiled evilly at the three unconscious Ronins laying before him. Their hands were tied tightly behind their backs, and their ankles were tied, making it impossible for them to resist him. He looked toward his Warlords. "Split up and find Torrent. He escaped earlier. Bring him to me when you capture him. And while you are at it, find Wildfire and bring him to me as well."

"Yes, master." And the three of them vanished away.

Talpa looked toward the unconscious Ronins and a cruel smile came across his face. He decided he would have a bit of fun before Torrent and Wildfire were brought to him. He raised his hand upward, causing the three of them to rise up in the air. His eyes flashed brightly, and suddenly black energy surrounded Kento, Rowen, and Sage, electrocuting them.

The three immediately awoke and screamed in agony, struggling helplessly to get it to stop, but it wasn't any good. They continued to be electrocuted without mercy.


	14. Chapt. 14

****

Twisted Reality

Chapt. 14

Ryo and Emily had finally made it inside the castle and were now running down a long narrow, winding hall. Dust seemed to litter the place and Emily could just imagine the insects and rodents that lived in the place. She saw several spider webs hanging from the dark corners of the ceiling, and some in the corners touching the floor. She continued to follow Ryo, feeling slightly creeped out by this place. And to think Cye is stuck in this horrid place, she thought sadly. 

Ryo turned a corner, and his swords swung through the air, cutting off the head of a Dynasty soldier. One more charged at him, and gave it a high kick against the torso, sending it flying back into the wall where it crumbled down to the floor.

Emily was certain more would soon come, but no more did which surprised her. Ryo was moving again and she quickly caught up to him and followed him. They ran through another hallway. This one was much narrower than the last one. 

Suddenly they both heard someone coming toward them. Ryo pushed Emily back, and pressed back against the wall beside her, holding his breath. The footsteps got louder and whoever was coming was getting closer and closer. Minutes seem to drag by as they waited for whoever it was to get to them. Most likely it was another soldier or a Warlord. They held their breath, waiting for what seemed to be an eternity. The footsteps got even closer, then suddenly Ryo charged out, ready to attack.

"Augh!" the person screamed and ducked down, covering their head.

Ryo froze in mid attack, his swords inches away from the person's head. His mouth hanging open, his eyes wide. "CYE?!" 

Emily's mouth dropped open as well, but she quickly closed it. They had found Cye, or rather Cye had found them. Oh well, it didn't matter. He was there!

Ryo backed up some and sheathed his blades, then helped his young friend up. Immediately begin to check him over for any wounds at all. "Are you okay?" he asked. 

Cye nodded. "I am now." He looked around, blinking. "Where are the others?"

Ryo frowned. "I left them to fight the Warlords. I'm hoping they're all right, but I have a nagging suspicion they're not."

Cye frowned, then he noticed Emily. He didn't know what she was doing there, but right now it didn't matter. He smiled at her, and she responded by hugging him. 

"I'm so glad you're okay," she told him sincerely. It made him slightly blush, and Ryo had to smile. Those two made a perfect couple in his opinion.

"Come on," he said finally. "Let's find the others and get out of here."

"Sounds good to me!" Cye exclaimed as he and Emily separated from each other. Emily nodded in agreement and the two of them followed Ryo through the halls. 

Sage continued to scream in agony as he felt as if he was being torn apart. He could barely hear Rowen and Kento screaming in agony beside him and Talpa's mocking laughter before him. His eyes were shut tightly in pain and he kept having flashbacks of his captivity in the Gargoyles. 

Rowen was near tears as he never felt anything hurt so bad. Not even Anubis' Quake With Fear hurt this bad. He could hear Talpa laughing at him, and was wondering in the midst of the torture how they had gotten there in the first place. He felt Kento beside him, and Sage on his other side and knew that somehow Ryo and Sage's sister were still free. He hoped they had gotten to Cye by now, and would figure out that he, Kento, and Sage had all been captured and were being tortured by Talpa in his throne room.

Kento struggled against the pain he was feeling. It was intense and burned him without mercy. He felt as if he were sitting on an electric chair, being electrocuted with a thousand jolts. He wasn't sure how long Talpa was going to continue this, but he knew it would be for a long time. He could only hope Ryo would save them. He himself wanted to fight against this torture and make Talpa suffer for it. In the midst of the pain he managed to glare at their captor with hateful eyes promising revenge for all of this.

Talpa only laughed at him. "Enjoying this, Hardrock? Don't worry, there will be more pain to come. You and your fellow Ronins will suffer immensely when my son comes to power and I use it against you."

"Yeah?!" Kento challenged, ignoring his pain. "We'll defeat both you and your son!"

"And you're going to be sorry when Ryo finds Cye and comes after us!" Sage declared.

"And you'll get a full blast of the Inferno as well!" Rowen spat.

"Foolish children!" Talpa laughed in mockery, his eyes flashing. "Ryo of the Wildfire will soon be no more. His armor will be mine along with yours and the four of you will perish."

They were all confused when he said the four of them. They knew he meant Ryo and themselves, so that left Cye. As great as it sounded, it didn't make sense.

"What do you mean the four of us, Talpa?" Sage demanded. By now Talpa had stopped electrocuting them, and they were ignoring the after effects of the pain. They were still tied up, and trying to get out of their bonds without looking as if they were. Talpa chuckled.

"You shall soon see, Halo. You shall soon see."

Sekhmet glanced around the area he was standing in. He stayed silent, wondering which way Torrent could have gone as he stood in the dark halls. That Ronin Rodent is around this castle somewhere. And if I find him first and bring him back to Master Talpa, he will award me. He smiled to himself as he started walking forward. A few minutes later he met up with Cale. "Find him or Wildfire?"

"No," Cale crossed his arms. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack here. Those two could be anywhere."

"Maybe Dais had better luck," Sekhmet suggested. Secretly he hoped not. He wanted to be the one to be awarded by Talpa, and be the only one to be awarded. 

"Perhaps," Cale said without being much convinced. "Let's go. We're bound to find them sooner or later. 

Sekhmet nodded and followed him. They searched every possible place, from behind statues, tables, inside rooms, from behind closed doors, and through out dark halls. There was no sign of them. 

"Don't tell me they escaped already!" Cale spat, getting impatient as they kept searching. It seemed like hours they had been searching for Torrent. And they seemed to be getting no closer to finding the Dynasty prince. Cale gagged as he realized that was what Torrent was. He sighed heavily as he continued on.

Soon Dais joined with them. "So I see you haven't found them yet."

"Of course not," Sekhmet spat. "Did you?"

"No," Dais admitted.

Cale sighed again. He knew if they didn't find Torrent and capture Wildfire Talpa would punish them greatly for their failure. And he knew he did not wish to face punishment. Talpa could be very cruel when inflicting it.

"This is just great," Sekhmet muttered. 

"Relax," Dais said, unaware Sekhmet was actually happy, and not annoyed as he thought. "I know how we can find them."

The two Warlords looked at him with inquiring eyes. And Dais smiled a sly smile.

Ryo, Cye, and Emily continued walking down the narrow winding hall, coming closer to the steep stairs. All three were quiet now, and Emily was beginning to wonder if they would ever find her brother and their other two friends. She didn't like this place at all, but felt comfort knowing they had found Cye and that he was safe. But for some reason, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it, she could tell Cye seemed upset about something. He was awfully quiet and wearing a frown on his face. Emily frowned to herself, wishing she could help him but she didn't even know what was bothering him. And she didn't want to ask him right now, wanting to give him time to speak up for himself. 

The three ascended the steps and begin to make their way upward. Ryo was worried about the others, the feeling they had been captured was growing strong within the spirit of his armor and he let himself be guided to them. He glanced momentarily at Cye and cringed slightly. Cye had no armor on. He was dressed only in his jeans and t-shirt, and sneakers. This worried Ryo greatly. He knew that Talpa most likely had his friend's orb and they would have to get it back so Cye would have protection. And what about Emily? he worried. She had no armor to protect herself either. She might be a good fighter, but he doubted she would be able to handle Talpa. He kept a sigh in. He needed to figure out what to do without endangering both their lives. They made it to the top of the stairs.

"Well, well, well," came a familiar voice. "And what do we have here? Two Ronin Pests, and a weak girl."

Ryo's head snapped up to see Dais, Cale, and Sekhmet standing before them, and behind them were dozens of Dynasty soldiers. He glared at them, keeping Cye and Emily behind him on the steps. Suddenly without warning he lashed out at the Warlords, kicking Dais right into Cale as he leapt forward and charged at them. "Cye! Emily! Run! Get out of here!"

Before Emily could protest Cye grabbed her wrist and turned and ran down the steps as fast as he could. Emily decided not to argue, wanting to stay with Cye anyway to make sure he would be all right. The two of them ran down the stairs and through the hall, leaving Ryo to fight the three Warlords by himself. 

Cye felt bad though as he ran. He knew he was sacrificing his friend, but there was nothing he could do. If only he had his armor!

Dais threw Ryo off him and jumped to his feet, knocking the boy backward with his own weapon. He could see Torrent and the girl running down the hall at the bottom of the stairs. "After them!" he ordered his fellow Warlords.

Sekhmet and Cale did not need to be told twice. Both of them leapt downward into the bottom hall and chased after Cye and Emily.

Ryo continued to fight against Dais, hoping that Cye and Emily could escape. The fight between him and Dais was ferocious as their weapons met again and again. 

Suddenly Dais called his surekill. "Web of Deception!"

Ryo saw the attack coming and he jumped high into the air, hoping to avoid it. Dais only smirked and allowed the attack to follow. 

Suddenly Ryo felt the webbing surrounding him, trapping him. He felt pain as he ward forced back down to the ground by it. He struggled which caused more pain as the webbing tightened even more around him. He cried out in pain, then grunted when Dais pressed his armored foot down on his back. 

"Looks like I win," Dais said, as he smugly looked down at Ryo.

And Ryo could only glare up at him.

Cye could hear the two Warlords chasing after him and Emily. He was afraid for her and afraid for himself, knowing if they were caught they would be dragged back to Talpa. And he didn't want Emily to see how dangerous Talpa could be. He ran faster, pulling her along with him, worrying about his friends and just praying they would all be able to escape.

Sekhmet ran faster, determined to capture the boy. He suddenly knocked Cye down, while Cale knocked Emily down. Emily screamed and rolled over, then suddenly kicked Cale between the legs as hard as she could. Her foot felt pain, lots of it, but she only gasped.

Cale did not want to admit it, but he had felt that, so he was in pain too. It surprised him that her contact went right through the armor without her even wearing an armor. He glared down at the girl, and yanked her up by the hair. She struggled wildly, but then Cale suddenly placed his sword against her throat, and she became still, breathing hard, ragged breaths as she glared up at him with hateful burning eyes.

"EMILY!!" Cye cried, in fear for her and himself. He struggled against Sekhmet, but the Warlord of Venom held him fast. He was going nowhere. 

Sekhmet looked smug as he looked toward Cale. "Let's get them to Master Talpa." Cale nodded and the two were dragged off.

Talpa looked up, grinning evilly as Dais forced Ryo inside. The other three Ronins looked shocked, and perhaps dismayed, and it almost seemed like there would be no escape for them, not unless some miracle came, but even that seemed hopeless.

"Well done, Dais," Talpa nodded with approval as Ryo was forced to kneel beside Rowen. Ryo continued to glare angrily at Talpa, struggling in his bonds.

"You can't escape the bonds, Wildfire, so quit wasting your energy. I need it," Talpa said. Ryo glared at him more. The Dynasty Master ignored him. "Now that all four of you are here, I only need Torrent, then I can show you my surprise. I promise you'll get a kick out of this one."

"Yeah?!" Kento snapped. "Why don't you take your surprise and shove it up your…."

The door to the throne room opened, and Talpa smiled. "Ah… here it comes now."

Emily was shocked at the throne room. It seemed to be a singular room with a red carpet on the floor leading to a throne, and on either side of it were many torches, adding a dim light to the room. She saw her brother, Kento, Rowen, and Ryo all kneeling down, tied up in chains, struggling desperately to escape them. Her eyes lifted toward the throne room, and she saw before her a giant being. There was no way to describe this creature, and she didn't want to. She could tell he was very evil, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

Sekhmet forced Cye forward as Cale followed close behind pushing Emily along. Talpa's eyes flashed. 

"So you caught him," he said. "Excellent. And who is the girl?"

"We don't know Master Talpa. She was with the Ronins… seems to have an interest in Torrent though."

"Is that so?" Talpa looked toward Cye who glared back at him. He then looked at the girl and smirked. "Tie her up and place her with the other Ronins."

Cale obeyed and Emily fought against him. But it was no use. She suddenly found herself tied up and sitting next to Sage, mumbling and cursing angrily.

"Hey, you okay?" Sage asked her in a whisper.

"No!"

Sage frowned and looked away, wishing there was something he could do. 

Talpa stood up, his eyes flashing as he looked down at the five bounded teenagers. "I said I had a surprise for you, and now it's time you Ronins see it. Looks like the girl will see it as well." He smirked at that as they glared daggers at him. Then he looked toward Cye, and pointed to him. 

Cye could feel a power surrounding him, and he struggled against it. The power increased, and he felt himself being forced to walk toward Talpa. When he got to Talpa, the Dynasty Master grabbed him and forced him to face his friends.

"Cye!" Kento cried. "Talpa, you scum! Let him go!"

"Why, Hardrock?" Talpa pressed with a smile on his face. "This is the surprise I was talking about. Take a look." He lifted Cye's bangs backward and showed them all his birthmark.

Ryo immediately closed his eyes, grimacing some, but the others were confused as they stared at the strange birthmark above Cye's left eyebrow. 

"It's a birthmark.." Kento said, blinking. 

"Why are you showing us a birthmark on Cye?" Rowen was confused himself.

Sage was frowning. He didn't remember Cye ever having a birthmark before. Something was up and he didn't like it. Talpa was chuckling. 

"This isn't an ordinary birthmark, Hardrock. I had to wait sixteen years for it to appear on him."

"What are you talking about Talpa?" Sage demanded.

Talpa smirked, then glanced down at Wildfire. Seemed like he knew already. Now it was time for the others to know as well. And he showed them his own birthmark.

Sage, Kento, Rowen, and Emily were all in shock the moment they saw it. For the two birthmarks on Cye and Talpa were identical and in the same exact spots.

Talpa laughed with mockery at them. "Yes… Torrent wears my birthmark, Ronins.. Which means he is of my blood."

No! It can't be true!" Kento cried, not wanting to believe his best friend could have Talpa's blood flowing through him. 

"Believe it, Hardrock!" Dais snapped, grinning evilly. 

They continued to be shocked, and Ryo kept his head down, blaming himself. If only I had told them all before, if only I had told Cye.. None of this would have ever happened. This is all my fault.

"Like it or not, Ronins, Torrent is my son. And he will help me gain a victory against you once his powers come into full strength."

None of them like that idea, and they could only stare in shock at Cye. Cye lowered his head, feeling ashamed now. There's no way they're going to accept me now, he thought bitterly. Why was I cursed? I'd rather die then be related to Talpa.

Talpa was still grinning like a maniac, enjoying the pure shock on their faces. He knew this was torment for them all, especially for Hardrock. He kept a firm grip on Cye, laughing mockingly. "I do hope you know that since Torrent is my son I have every right to do what I please with him. Including, punishing him for trying to run away."

All five of their heads snapped up, including Ryo's. They glared angrily at him, trying to get out of their bonds. Emily started yelling at him. "Leave him alone you piece of no good excuse for a modern electric toaster!"

"Such a mouth!" Talpa chuckled. Emily glared in reply, then glanced toward Cye. He was pale and noticeably shaking. He was scared, she realized. And there was nothing she nor his friends could do for him. And it pained her to know that.

"Now," Talpa said as he forced Cye around and lifted his chin upward to face him, "time for your punishment, boy."

Cye's eyes widened and he struggled to get loose. Talpa held him tighter and his eyes flashed red. He raised his fist high in the air and started to bring it downward. 

The other Ronins were struggling hard, and Emily was shaking with anger. She didn't want Cye hurt. She wanted to protect him. She didn't care of the consequences of what would happen to her, all she knew was that this monster had to be stopped. It was then that everyone realized she was glowing. All stared at her with much shock, and Sage's mouth dropped open. "Emily…?" he choked. Emily did not answer him. She only continued to glare at Talpa who stared at her, obviously shocked. For on Emily's forehead was the kanji of Courage.


	15. Chapt. 15

****

Twisted Reality

Chapter 15.

Talpa watched in awe as the kanji flashed brilliantly upon the girl's forehead. Her eyes were narrowed with much anger as if she could take on the whole world by herself. It surprised him how such a girl as this could hold so much power.

Cye was struggling in his arms, trying to get away from him and he could feel it. A scowl came across the tyrant's face, and his eyes flashed red. There was no way he was letting go of Cye. And now he would even keep the girl there, sensing the power from her. He held more tightly to Cye and glared at Emily. "Either back off of what you are doing, or I will hurt him!"

Emily glared at him. "That just shows how weak you are, you coward!!!" she yelled at him. 

Talpa glared back, then tossed Cye aside. He landed on the floor with a groan as Talpa marched over to Emily. The tyrant snatched her up by the neck and held her close to him, eyes blazing with anger.

"EMILY!!" Sage yelled, struggling in his bonds. The others struggled as well, but the chains held them tightly. There was nothing they could do to save her.

"You will regret saying that," Talpa seethed in her face. Emily struggled in his grasp, but she couldn't get free. Talpa started to glow black, and the glowing started to surround Emily, ready to add pain to her. But then Talpa sensed a greater power. He froze and looked around for the source, then rested his eyes on Cye. They widen in shock and his jaw almost hit the floor. Cye was standing there, glowing a bright light blue with his kanji of trust flashing. There was a mixture of silver, white, and gold glowing from within him as well, and his hair was blowing back as if blown by the wind. His eyes were red now and flashing brightly. His hair kept turning from light brown to white several times off and on. The whole air seemed to fly around him in a speculation of colors and it was hard to tell where they had began and if they were going to stop. 

Cye was glaring at Talpa with more anger than anyone could ever possess. His eyes almost burned holes through the evil being. The Warlords saw what was happening and slowly began to advance on Cye from behind. They were ready to tackle him and hold him down for Talpa. But as they advanced on him they noticed it was getting colder and the air was beginning to smell like the ocean breeze. They could have sworn they heard waves crashing all around them. 

Cye made no move. He stood there, looking imposing and powerful. And then from nowhere came a blast of water which slammed into the torsos of Cale, Dais, and Sekhmet, throwing them back several feet where they were thrown right through the wall which left one gigantic hole in it.

Talpa was shocked to say nonetheless, and the other Ronins, and Emily were all staring at Cye as if they didn't know him anymore.

"What's going on with Cye?" Kento wondered anxiously.

"I don't know," Ryo said with a frown.

"He's gaining power somehow," Rowen mused. "But how?"

"There's only one way for Cye to gain that much power," Sage said. "He's…. he's of Talpa's blood like it was said. Talpa wasn't lying."

"No!" Kento cried. "I refuse to believe my best friend is related to that thing!"

Sage frowned and lowered his head. He didn't want to believe it either, but it was the truth. He only hoped it wouldn't change things between them.

Talpa continued to stare at Cye, but he was beginning to get over his shock. He smiled evilly. "So my son, I see you have finally gained your power at last."

"I'm not your son!" Cye roared at him.

"Say what you want, Cye," Talpa laughed, "but you know it's true. You and I are blood, and that birthmark on your forehead proves it."

"Then I disown you and this birthmark!"

Talpa laughed. "For now you do, but someday you'll come to realize that I own you; Torrent."

Cye's eyes flashed and glowed as he clenched his fists. "YOU'LL NEVER OWN ME!!!" At the same time the floor immediately began to shake violently. Talpa lost his hold on Emily and she fell to the floor landing on her back and bruising it just a bit. Everyone stared in disbelief as a giant crater opened up in the middle of the floor underneath Talpa. He suddenly fell through with a loud scream of revenge. The shaking continued however, and it caused the chains on Emily and the other Ronins to snap loose. They leapt to their feet and Sage ran toward Emily and grabbed her. "We have to get out of here!!" he cried.

"This way!" Ryo ordered. He glanced at Cye and frowned deeply with worry. Cye was making no move. The entire building was shaking and beginning to collapse as the others made a run for it. "CYE, COME ON!!" he screamed at him.

Cye turned and stared at Ryo and then snapped out of it. He ran behind Ryo, dodging falling debris and heavy drops of water. The dove out through the doors of the castle just a huge wave crashed into the castle, flooding the entire place and ripping it apart.

The other Ronins and Emily were standing on the roof of another building about a mile away. Emily was frowning deeply, very worried about them, and wondering if she'd ever see Cye again. She didn't even move when Rowen had stood up.

"There they are!" he cried. 

All of them stood up and followed his look, and Emily rubbed her eyes and followed his look as well. Then she smiled in relief, tears of joy running down her cheeks. They were alive! All four of them watched with joy as Ryo and Cye made their way to them and up onto the building.

Emily grabbed Cye in a bear hug and he returned her hug smiling. He was grateful that she was there with him, and grateful his other friends had come for him. Now all he wanted to do was just forget what had happened and move on. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked behind him to see Kento. Emily pulled back from him and tucked one strand of hair behind her ear, smiling as she stood next to her brother. 

Kento stared at Cye for a moment before asking, "Cye, are you all right?"

Cye nodded. "Yes, I'm fine now. It's all over right?" Kento nodded and Ryo stepped forward.

"Let's go home then," he said. All of them agreed to that, and Ryo pulled out the Jewel of Life and used it to make a gateway. None of them looked back at the Netherealm especially Cye. 

It was a few days later and everything was basically back to normal. Sage was getting ready for another date with Mariah again, Kento and Ryo were competing each other in an arm wrestling match, Rowen was the referee, Mia was typing away on her computer, imputing some data she wanted to store away and translate later, and Cye was getting ready to leave. He was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a beige polo shirt. He fastened a gold necklace with a water dragon attached to the chain around his neck and neatly combed his hair out. After a quick check in the mirror, he grabbed his sneakers and put them on, then left his room. After telling the others where he was going he left the house and went down the street toward Sage's house. 

There on the front porch she stood, wearing a cute summer dress, crystal earrings, her hair let loose and wavy with the sides curled just a bit. She smiled at seeing him and he smiled back. 

"Hi, Cye." she said, almost shyly.

"Hi, Emily," he said shy himself. Then he brightened. "Ready for our trip?" he asked.

Emily nodded eagerly. "You bet! I've been waiting all day to go!" 

His smiled widened, and Emily took a moment to call back into the house. "Mom! Cye's here! I'm leaving now!"

"Have fun, dear!" 

"Sure will!" Emily smiled at Cye again, and the two stepped off the porch and made their way down the street. As they walked Emily stared at Cye. She didn't care if he was the son of the tyrant or if he was powerful or not. To her he was her friend, and she loved him no matter what. 

And Cye himself loved Emily more everyday. They finally made it where they wanted to be and like eager kids they ran toward it, and dove right into the water, laughing and splashing one another happily in the sea. To them this was the life and it was finally complete, and Cye was grateful and happier than he had ever been in his entire life.

A/N: I finally finished!! I would again like to thank Tigergirl for letting me use Emily for this fic. I really appreciate it! So ppl if you think Emily is mine, she's not. You want to use her ask Tigergirl. The only character in this whole fic that does belong to me is Mariah. And I might use Mariah again in another fic sometime. I'm not sure yet. So please R&R! Thanks!


End file.
